Spanish word

dispersar

Pronunciation

IPA/dispeɾˈsaɾ/

Meaning

  • verbscatter

Example

La policía intentó dispersar la multitud.

The police tried to scatter the crowd.

Illustration for dispersar (scatter)

More examples

Las medidas de limpieza rápida ayudaron a dispersar el humo en la sala.

Quick cleaning measures helped disperse the smoke in the room.

Core concept

A crowd breaking up with people moving apart.

Common phrases

  • dispersar una manifestación

    disperse a demonstration

  • dispersar a la gente

    disperse people

  • dispersar el humo

    disperse the smoke

Similar words

dispersarse: Spreads out naturally and loses cohesion, as a crowd or group scatters.
desalojar: Removes people or objects from a place, making a building or area empty.
esparcir: Distributes powders, seeds, or liquids thinly over a wide area.
separar: Pulls connected things apart so they become separate pieces.

Definition in Spanish

Separar o disolver una reunión o concentración para que las partes queden dispersas en distintos puntos.

Word origin

From Latin dispergere (dis- 'apart' + spargere 'to scatter'), adopted into Spanish via medieval Latin as dispersar.

Usage tips

  • Dispersar is usually transitive when an agent breaks up a gathering, while the reflexive dispersarse describes a crowd scattering on its own.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word